Ashes or dust

“I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”
            -  Jack London

Prefontaine liked this quote so I liked this quote. Mostly I liked it because Pre liked it, I never really thought about what it meant. What is it to be ashes? What is it to be dust? I pictured a brilliant blaze to be similar to that of a firework show, the spectacle of it all. But what really happens when you are converting from one form of solid matter to ashes. This is an unavoidably unpleasant process. There is pain involved; you are completely and utterly broken down in the quest for magnificence.  
By comparison what about dust, dust is nothing but dirt stirred up by the wind, age-old stale sediment that never was much of anything. Dirt stirred by the wind however, does not require a change of state; there is no painful remolding.
But it also never experiences the magnificence of the brilliant flames.

I believe we all should embrace the agony of the flames. The sermon this Sunday spoke to this message; the main point was that it is in our weakness that me might find strength. The meteor must embrace its flammability. It’s mortality, to find the glory of the blaze. If we wish to find greatness, no matter what we do. We must instead of fearing defeat embrace it’s inevitable unavoidable nature.  

This is what London is speaking of, the broken down beat up character of a champion.  There are many athletes who have had success come easy, but these athletes don’t last long. They have not traveled the same path as those battle scarred fighters who have had to climb tooth and nail to the top. When it comes down to the wire, the one who has reached that point of ultimate low, the one who has fallen to the deepest chasm of their soul. The one who has wrestled with his demons and won. He is the one who will overcome, he is the one who will keep pushing when the cold wind blows and the skies are grey, you could stand him at the gates of hell and he won’t back down. He has seen the worst and battled through it, he can handle any situation any time. But even more importantly he is not afraid to push himself to his limit and beyond any time any place. This is what it means to be a brilliant blaze.

Embrace your defeat; let them mold you into a champion wherever you are, whatever you do. Do not fear failure, stare the devil in the eye, dig deep and conquer yourself, turn your fears into strengths and you will be unstoppable.  

Burn brightly!

Godspeed